Skip to main content

Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...

India's Neeraj Chopra eyes greater gains after Olympic Silver

India's javelin star Neeraj Chopra said Saturday that missing out on Olympic gold hurt, but the injury-hit athlete eyes bigger returns in upcoming competitions. The 26-year-old won silver in Paris after Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem won gold with an Olympic record of 92.97 metres in the javelin final. Chopra, who made history in 2020 Tokyo Olympics with India's first ever Olympic track and field gold, threw further in Paris with 89.45 metres -- not too far off his personal best of 89.94m. "There is no comparison with a gold medal," Chopra told reporters by phone from Switzerland, where he is training for upcoming tournaments. "Winning back-to-back medals for your nation is good and taking a lap of the ground with your country's flag is always a wonderful feeling," he added. "But the national anthem playing when your flag goes up with you on top of the podium was missing." However, he said he was pleased with his silver. "We have to accept what we have," he said. "I am happy with what I got." Chopra built on his breakout success in Tokyo by winning world championship gold last year, but missed a few competitions due to a groin injury. But the well-built star, who hails from the northern Indian state of Haryana -- a nursery of athletes including Olympic wrestlers and boxers, remains confident of future success. "I believed that I could cover more distance," Chopra said on his mindset after Nadeem's monster throw in Paris. But Chopra said he will not set himself targets of 90 metres and more. "I leave this to God. Just prepare well, and give it a rip, the javelin will travel," he said. Chopra became a national hero after his Tokyo gold, earning million-dollar endorsement deals with his boyish charm, changing hairstyles and an infectious smile. However, Pakistan's Nadeem shot to overnight stardom after his throw gave his nation's their first individual Olympic gold. Nadeem's father-in-law gifted him a buffalo for the Olympic feat. But Chopra isn't surprised, saying he had been given a large container of ghee, or clarified butter. "In Indian villages... gifts such as buffaloes, motorbikes and tractors are common," he said.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/c97BCyi

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...

US, Philippines kick off joint military drills in South China Sea with 16,000 troops

Some 16,000 US and Philippine troops kicked off the annual joint military drills on Monday in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), local media reported. WPS is the official designation by Philippines to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country's exclusive economic zone. The 19-day exercises, dubbed "Balikatan 2024," will involve around 5,000 Philippine and 11,000 US troops, making it the largest joint military drills between the two allies conducted in decades, local English daily Manila Times reported citing the military. A total of 14 nations, including Japan and India, will take part in the drills as observers amid mounting maritime tensions in the South China Sea. Contingents from the Australian Defence Force and the French Navy will also join the exercise as participants. Read also: China urges US to stop using Philippines as a pawn to destabilise South China Sea France will join the group sail but will only navigate on the edge of the Philippine E...

Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

The private jet parking lots at airports near the Indian city of Ayodhya are full and the shops have run out of gold-plated idols, as wealthy devotees prepare for the invite-only opening ceremony of one of Hinduism's holiest temples. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani are among the 8,000 or so attendees at Monday's inauguration event for the Ram Temple, which devotees believe is built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, a sacred Hindu deity. The construction of the temple, which began after the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus in 2019 more than two decades after a Hindu mob razed a mosque there, triggering deadly riots, fulfils a key campaign promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Read BJP-promised temple transforms Ayodhya: Muslims, locals feel neglected The opening ceremony, organised by the trust that built the temple, comes months before a national election which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to w...